The DA will write to the MEC for Education, Sello Lehari, to request that teaching contracts be awarded on consistent terms for both South African and foreign teachers.

The DA has been reliably informed that foreign teachers, in critical disciplines such as Science and Maths, are only employed on three-month contracts while their South African counterparts are given one-year contracts.

The North West is a predominantly rural area that struggles to attract teachers in essential subjects like Maths and Science. We therefore cannot afford to alienate willing and qualified teachers employed in the Province because of their nationality.

The DA believes that this discriminatory employment practice by the NW Department of Education not only constitutes unfair labour practice, but also borders on xenophobia.

There is no valid rational reason why the department will choose to employ equally qualified teachers on different contract periods.

The DA believes that the education of our children should be a priority that should not be compromised through unfair treatment of qualified teachers.